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Can temple work heal what seems unhealable — a grandfather's suicide, a family connection to Governor Boggs, and a broken marriage? This Story Day episode shares three testimonies from Kim Olsen that witness the stunning capacity of temple blessings to heal hearts, lives, and families on both sides of the veil, as Elder Dale G. Renlund taught (April 2018). In the first, Kim's grandfather, suffering from terminal cancer without adequate pain medication in the early 1960s, took his own life — and her beloved grandmother went to her grave believing he was condemned to hell. A member of the temple presidency told Kim the beauty of the gospel is the infinite Atonement of Jesus Christ, which reaches beyond the veil. When her husband was baptized for her grandfather, "a powerful spirit filled the room like a whoosh" — and thirty-one years later, Kim says, she can still feel their joy. In the second, genealogy research revealed that Kim's grandmother was related to the family of Missouri Governor Lilburn W. Boggs, who issued the extermination order against the Saints. After years of resisting, her heart was softened: "I myself had needed the forgiveness and cleansing only to be gotten through the Atonement of Jesus Christ. Could I deny my ancestors this same blessing?" She could not — even if their last name was Boggs. In the third, Kim's ex-husband died, and her deceased mother appeared in her daughter's dream saying he "needed her." After much prayer, Kim's current husband performed the baptism for her ex-husband — and in that moment, "everything that had been wrong in our relationship was washed away." The episode also includes Tia's own testimony of receiving ancestral names at 4:30 a.m. in a dream — three names from three different family lines, all found on FamilySearch, all related to her.

"Everything that had been wrong in our relationship was washed away. A new existence could begin for him, our daughter, and even me." — Kim Olsen

Q: Can temple work heal families broken by suicide, conflict, or estrangement?
A: Kim Olsen testifies that it can. Her grandfather took his own life in 1961, and her grandmother spent the rest of her life believing he was in hell. When the temple ordinances were performed, "a powerful spirit filled the room" — and both grandparents were freed from decades of pain. Elder Dale G. Renlund taught (April 2018) that "the blessings of the temple have a stunning capacity to heal hearts and lives and families."

Q: Do I have to do temple work for ancestors I don't want to help?
A: Kim Olsen discovered she was related to the family of Governor Boggs, who issued the Missouri extermination order against the Latter-day Saints. After years of resistance, her heart softened: temple work is the Lord's work, not ours, and everyone deserves the chance to accept the gospel. Her husband reminded her: "Our responsibility was to perform the ordinances for our kindred dead, no matter who they are, and leave the rest to the Lord."

Q: Can a deceased parent appear in a dream to ask for temple work?
A: In this episode, Kim's deceased mother appeared in her Catholic daughter's dream and told her that her father "needed her." Through prayer and patience, Kim discovered her ex-husband's temple work could now be done, received her daughter's permission, and her current husband performed the baptism — an act that washed away a lifetime of conflict and reconciled a broken family across the veil.

📚 SOURCES REFERENCED IN THIS EPISODE
Elder Dale G. Renlund, "Family History and Temple Work: Sealing and Healing" (April 2018 General Conference)
Doctrine and Covenants 128:22
Isaiah 61:1

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How do you learn to see the symbols God has placed in the temple — and what are you missing? Todd McKenna, who spent 41 years teaching seminary and institute and now serves as a sealer in the Logan Temple, joins the podcast for a practical, reverent conversation about how to deepen your temple worship through symbolic learning. "God teaches with symbols. It is His favorite method of teaching," wrote Orson F. Whitney — and Todd has spent decades proving it. He shares how a dab of honey on the Torah (a Jewish tradition tied to Psalm 119) parallels the modern endowment's invitation to learn through sacred symbolic acts; how a challenge from a friend in a sealing room — "How many examples of Christ can you find in this room?" — led to discovering 22 or 23 symbols of Christ in one room alone; and how Hugh Nibley's seven parallels between the LDS endowment and the Egyptian endowment sent him searching the Metropolitan Museum in New York for years, where he found ancient washings, anointings, veils, and the Egyptian goddess Ma'at covering the loins of every sarcophagus — the same "loins girt with truth" Paul described in Ephesians 6:14. The practical teaching: go to the temple with questions, not just attendance. Ask "how is this a symbol of Christ?" about every object — the altar, the chandelier, the veil, the marks on your garments. Then search the scriptures, Bible Hub for Hebrew word origins, and the BYU Citation Index for prophetic commentary. Don't expect someone else's answer to be yours: "The Lord will give you an answer tailored for your life, your challenges, your testimony." Todd also shares powerful family history experiences — five research trips to Ireland that uncovered 400 descendants of Hugh McKenna, guided step by step by the Spirit — and his witness as a sealer: "This isn't our work. It's His. He's hastening it, and He's going to make it work."

"How many examples of Christ can you find in the sealing room?" — A friend's challenge that changed everything

Q: How do you learn to see the symbols in the temple?
A: Todd McKenna teaches a practical method: go with a question, not just attendance. Ask "how is this a symbol of Christ?" about specific objects — the altar, the chandelier, the veil, the garment marks. Then search the scriptures, use Bible Hub for Hebrew word meanings, and check the BYU Citation Index for what prophets have taught about that symbol. President Nelson taught that "the temple endowment was given by revelation" and is "best understood by revelation, prayerfully sought with a sincere heart."

Q: What are tokens and signs in the temple?
A: Todd describes them as "tokens of recognition" — ways that God recognizes we have been taught and have made covenants. Brigham Young taught that we show them to the angels who stand as sentinels. Todd adds that each token and sign is paired with a specific covenant for a reason, and finding the connection between the two is part of the symbolic learning the temple invites.

Q: Are there symbols of Christ in every room of the temple?
A: Yes — Todd was challenged by a friend in a sealing room: "How many examples of Christ can you find?" He initially found four or five; his friend had found eleven. Over time, Todd's list grew to 22 or 23 symbols of Christ in the sealing room alone. The endowment now explicitly states that the veil is symbolic of Christ, but every object in the temple — from the altar to the chandelier to the marks on the garments — can teach about the Savior when approached with questions and the Spirit.

Q: How does the Spirit guide family history research?
A: Todd teaches two principles: get organized (so you don't repeat work) and pray before each research session for the Spirit to guide which line to pursue. He shares how the Spirit led him to discover 400 ancestors from the Isle of Man through a simple color change on his Family Search fan chart, and how five trips to Ireland — guided by promptings and, in one case, a deceased nephew's patriarchal blessing — uncovered generations of the McKenna family.

📚 SOURCES REFERENCED IN THIS EPISODE
Orson F. Whitney, Improvement Era, 1927: "God teaches with symbols. It is His favorite method of teaching."
John A. Widtsoe, genealogy article: "The endowment which was given by revelation can best be understood by revelation."
President Russell M. Nelson, General Conference 2021: temple endowment "best understood by revelation, prayerfully sought"
Hugh Nibley, seven parallels between LDS and Egyptian endowments
BYU Citation Index: https://scriptures.byu.edu

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Why did the prophet Elijah have to come — and what would have happened to the earth if he hadn't? In this landmark 1977 BYU devotional, Truman G. Madsen, one of the most beloved Latter-day Saint teachers of the 20th century, unfolds the mission of Elijah with a depth and emotional force that has made this talk a favorite for nearly fifty years. Elijah came to the Kirtland Temple on April 3, 1836 — the second day of Passover, the very night Jewish tradition sets an empty chair and a full goblet of wine at the table in expectation of his return. He came to turn hearts to hearts, not merely minds. And had he not come, Joseph Smith taught, the whole earth would have been "utterly wasted" at Christ's coming — wasted in both senses: it would have been a waste to create a world meant for family if no true family existed on it, and all mankind would literally be laid waste, unable to endure His presence without the sealing power to prepare them. Madsen teaches two principles that make the mission of Elijah personal: forgiveness and sacrifice. "It may be difficult to forgive your enemies," he says, "but it's even more so to forgive your loved ones" — and yet the hearts of children will never turn to the fathers without it. Drawing on Jacob's allegory of the tame and wild olive tree (Jacob 5), he teaches that a single righteous branch grafted into a wild family tree can, if strong enough, "heal and regenerate to the very roots" — sanctifying even one's forebears. "To be that kind of branch and achieve that kind of transformation backward and forward is the greatest achievement of this world." The talk closes with a moment Madsen witnessed in an airport: a returned missionary, whose father had died during his service, walking off a plane toward his waiting mother — and an embrace that, he testifies, "is precisely what you and I were sent into the world to make possible."

"To be that kind of branch and achieve that kind of transformation backward and forward is the greatest achievement of this world. But to do it, one must be mighty. One must be something like a savior." — Truman G. Madsen

Q: Why did Elijah have to come, according to LDS doctrine?
A: Without Elijah's restoration of the sealing power, the earth would have been "utterly wasted" at Christ's coming (Doctrine and Covenants 2; Malachi 4). Truman Madsen explains this means two things: it would have been a waste to create a world meant for family if no true, sealed family existed on it — and all mankind would literally be unable to endure Christ's presence without the sealing power to prepare them. Elijah came to the Kirtland Temple on April 3, 1836 — the second day of Passover — to restore that power.

Q: What does "turn the hearts of the children to the fathers" really mean?
A: More than genealogy research. Madsen teaches it means a transformation of feeling — forgiveness, sacrifice, and genuine familial love across generations. Drawing on the olive tree allegory in Jacob 5, he teaches that one righteous person grafted into a broken family line can, if strong enough, "heal and regenerate to the very roots" — even sanctifying ancestors. "You are not alone. There is no way you can regain solitary and neutral ground. You are in it, in involvement."

Q: How does forgiveness relate to temple and family history work?
A: Madsen teaches that hearts cannot truly turn to the fathers without forgiveness — and that forgiving loved ones is harder than forgiving enemies. The Savior's instruction is to pray *for* those who have hurt us: "You may choke in the effort. But as you keep going, the time comes when you mean it." He cites Doctrine and Covenants 64: refusing to forgive a sinner "is a worse sin than whatever sin the sinner has committed."

Q: Are those who have died aware of us?
A: Joseph Smith taught that spirits in the spirit world are not far from us: "Enveloped in flaming fire, they are not far from us. They know our thoughts, motions, and feelings, and are often pained therewith." Madsen adds: "They are not merely idle spectators in the last days." The spirit world is not a remote galaxy — it is here, it is near, and those bound to us "yearn over us."

📚 SOURCES REFERENCED IN THIS EPISODE
Truman G. Madsen, "Elijah's Mission," BYU Devotional, 1977
Doctrine and Covenants 2; 45; 88; 98; 133
Malachi 4:5–6
Jacob 5 (Allegory of the Olive Tree)
3 Nephi 9:19–20 (sacrifice of a broken heart)
Brigham Young's dream of Joseph Smith, Winter Quarters 1846

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All of the major genealogical platforms have many different tools to help anyone regardless of skill or ability. However, most of the tools never get used. Whether it is because people aren't aware, or are intimidated about learning something new, or feel like they don't have time, many opportunities to find ancestors are wasted. In this episode Colette covers some of these under utilized tools in FamilySearch, My Heritage, and Link-Lives. When looking for a long lost relative it is certainly helpful to utilize all technology that is made available to us.

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What spiritual manifestations prepared the early Saints for the Kirtland Temple dedication — and what do they teach us about preparing for our own solemn assemblies? In the weeks before the Kirtland Temple dedication on March 30, 1836, Joseph Smith and the early Church leaders experienced a series of extraordinary outpourings as they washed, anointed, organized, and sanctified themselves for the promised endowment of power. This episode walks through the firsthand accounts day by day, drawn from the Joseph Smith Papers, William Phelps, Oliver Cowdery, Heber C. Kimball, and Warren Parrish. On January 21, 1836 — a day of ceremonial washings and anointings lasting from 3 p.m. to 2 a.m. — the heavens opened to many. Joseph Smith saw the celestial kingdom: the blazing throne of God, Father Adam and Abraham, and his brother Alvin, prompting the revelation that all who die without knowledge of the gospel who would have received it "shall be heirs of the celestial kingdom of God" (D&C 137). He saw the Twelve standing in a circle, fatigued and tattered, with Jesus in their midst weeping — and they did not behold Him. William Phelps recorded that speaking and singing in tongues and prophesying occurred "as on the day of Pentecost." Heber C. Kimball saw the Apostle John standing in the midst of the Twelve. Oliver Cowdery wrote: "The glorious scene is too great to be described... the heavens were opened to many." Warren Parrish saw "the armies of heaven." On January 28, Sylvester Smith saw a pillar of fire rest upon the heads of the quorum. Roger Orton saw "a mighty angel riding upon a horse of fire with a flaming sword in his hand, followed by five others, encircling the house and protecting the saints from the power of Satan." William Smith saw the heavens opened and the Lord's host protecting the anointed. Zebedee Coltrin saw "the Savior extended before him as upon the cross, and a little after, crowned with glory upon his head above the brightness of the sun." Joseph testified: "Angels mingled their voices with ours while their presence was in our midst, and unceasing praises swelled our bosoms for the space of half an hour." It was from these experiences that William W. Phelps was inspired to compose "The Spirit of God" — the hymn's references to visions, angels, armies of heaven, washings, anointings, and hosannas drawn directly from what he witnessed in those rooms.

"The heavens were opened upon us. Angels ministered unto us. The house was filled with the glory of God, and we shouted Hosanna to God and the Lamb." — Joseph Smith, January 21, 1836

Q: What spiritual manifestations happened before the Kirtland Temple dedication?
A: In January 1836, during preparatory washings and anointings, multiple Church leaders experienced visions, angelic ministry, speaking in tongues, and prophesying. Joseph Smith saw the celestial kingdom, including Alvin Smith, and received D&C 137. Heber C. Kimball saw the Apostle John. Roger Orton saw angels with flaming swords encircling the house. Joseph recorded: "Angels mingled their voices with ours... and unceasing praises swelled our bosoms for the space of half an hour."

Q: How did the Saints prepare for the Kirtland endowment?
A: Through weeks of instruction, organizing priesthood quorums, ceremonial washings and anointings with consecrated oil, fasting, prayer, and mutual testimony. Joseph Smith taught the brethren that the endowment would empower them to "perform all manner of miracles" and to "preach the gospel to all nations, kindreds and tongues, in their own languages." The preparation was both ordinance-based and character-based: sanctification preceded manifestation.

Q: What is the origin of the hymn "The Spirit of God"?
A: William W. Phelps composed "The Spirit of God" (also known as the Hosanna hymn) from the spiritual outpourings he personally witnessed in January 1836. The hymn's references to visions, angels, armies of heaven, washings, anointings, and shouts of hosanna are drawn directly from the firsthand experiences of those preparatory meetings — not from abstract inspiration, but from events Phelps participated in.

Q: Did Joseph Smith see the celestial kingdom before the Kirtland Temple was dedicated?
A: Yes — on January 21, 1836, during the preparatory washings and anointings, Joseph saw the celestial kingdom: the blazing throne of God, streets of gold, Father Adam, Abraham, his parents, and his deceased brother Alvin. Puzzled how Alvin could inherit the celestial kingdom without baptism, he received the revelation now canonized as D&C 137: all who die without the gospel who would have received it "shall be heirs of the celestial kingdom of God."

📚 SOURCES REFERENCED IN THIS EPISODE
Joseph Smith Papers, January 1836 journal entries
D&C 88 ("The Olive Leaf"); D&C 137 (Vision of the Celestial Kingdom)
William W. Phelps, account of January 21, 1836
Heber C. Kimball, account of January 21, 1836
Oliver Cowdery, journal entry, January 22, 1836
Warren Parrish, vision of the armies of heaven

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What if you studied Holy Week through the lens of the temple — and the spirit world? In this episode, host Tia Smith walks through the Savior's final week with a perspective many Latter-day Saints (LDS) haven't considered: how each day pointed to the temple, the promises made to the fathers, and the work of redemption unfolding on both sides of the veil.

Day by day — Palm Sunday through Easter morning — Tia traces the temple imagery and spirit-world meaning woven through Holy Week: the "hosanna" (please save us) shout echoing on both sides of the veil, the cleansing of the temple as a call to sanctify ourselves, the anointing at Bethany seen through a priesthood-and-temple lens, and the Savior organizing His forces in the spirit world (D&C 138) to carry the gospel to those who waited thousands of years for their deliverance. Along the way she shows how we become "saviors on Mount Zion" through vicarious temple work — patterning our lives after the Savior's own sacrifice.

The episode also explores the meaning and power of solemn assemblies — their scriptural pattern of protection, sanctification, and spiritual outpouring — as preparation for one about to take place, and celebrates Elijah Day (April 3), when Elijah restored the sealing keys in the Kirtland Temple.

Q: What does it mean to study Holy Week "through the lens of the temple"?
A: It means noticing how the events of the Savior's final week point to temple themes — sanctification, covenants, anointing, redemption of the dead, and the sealing of families — and how His atoning work opened the way for the vicarious temple work we do today.

Q: What was happening in the spirit world during Holy Week?
A: Latter-day Saint scripture (Doctrine and Covenants 138) teaches that between His death and resurrection, the Savior organized righteous messengers in the spirit world and commissioned them to preach the gospel to those who had died — beginning the redemption of the dead. Many had waited a very long time for that day of deliverance.

Q: What is a solemn assembly and why does it matter?
A: A solemn assembly is a sacred gathering — historically connected to temple dedications, sustaining new prophets, and receiving revelation. Scriptural patterns show them tied to sanctification, protection from the adversary, and outpourings of spiritual manifestations, often in times of crisis.

Q: What is "becoming a savior on Mount Zion"?
A: As taught by latter-day prophets, when we perform proxy temple work for those who cannot do it for themselves, we act in a small measure as the Savior did — offering a vicarious service that helps redeem others, and drawing closer to Christ in the process.

Q: What is Elijah Day (April 3)?
A: April 3, 1836 is when Elijah appeared in the Kirtland Temple and restored the sealing keys — the power that binds families across generations. It corresponds with the Passover, when Elijah's arrival is traditionally awaited.

👉 Watch or listen to the full episode: [PASTE FULL EPISODE LINK]

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CITATIONS:
Dieter F. Uchtdorf, “Joyfully Receive the Unexpected Messiah”, BYU Devotional April 15, 2025
Passover, Guide to the Scriptures, Solemn Assembly Church Topics
Russell M. Nelson, “Grateful to Gather”, Liahona, Jan. 2025
Dieter F. Uchtdorf, “Temple Blessings”, Ensign, August 2010
Bruce A. Van Orden, "The Kirtland Temple And Endowment of Power" in We'll Sing and We'll Shout: The Life and Times of W. W. Phelps (Religious Studies Center, Brigham Young University; Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 2018), 205–220.
https://www.gotquestions.org/solemn-assembly.html
Joel 1&2, D&C 128:22, Psalm 24:2-4, D&C 109:12, 3 Nephi 11:16-17
Matthew 5:17-18, 3 Nephi 15:9 , 3 Nephi 16:5, D&C 138:1-4,11,14-18, 30-31, 36-37, 46-48, 52, 55-56, Mark 14:3, JST Mark 14:8, EXODUS 40:13-15, Isaiah 61:1, 3, Moses 1:39,
Kristian Heal, “From End Times to Sacred Times”, Maxwell Institute, March 23, 2026
Leland Gentry, “Redemption for the Dead (D&C 2),” in Sperry Symposium Classics: The Doctrine and Covenants, ed. Craig K. Manscill (Provo, UT: Religious Studies Center, Brigham Young University, 2004), 92–102.
Marion D. Hanks, “Temple Worship the Key to Knowing God”, Ensign July 2016
Thomas S. Monson, “Serve the Lord with Love”, Ensign, Feb. 2014
Russell M. Nelson, “The Lord Jesus Christ Will Come Again,” Oct. 2024
Brigham Young, Discourses of Brigham Young, sel. John A. Widtsoe (1954), 406.
Gordon B. Hinckley, “Closing Remarks”, Oct. 2024
Bruce R. McConkie, “Celestial Marriage”, BYU, Nov. 6, 1977 

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When you leave the temple, do you say "back to the real world"? President John H. Groberg — former member of the First Quorum of the Seventy, temple president of the Idaho Falls Temple, and author of The Other Side of Heaven — asks you to reconsider: the temple IS the real world. What is real, he teaches, is that which lasts forever — truth, love, covenants, Christ's Atonement — and everything in the temple deals in these eternal realities. What most people call the "real world" — careers, possessions, even sickness and death — are temporal and passing, illusionary by comparison. In this BYU-Idaho devotional (October 2006), President Groberg unfolds a framework built on one principle: selfishness ends, unselfishness doesn't. "Charity never faileth" means it never ceases, it has no end — and the temple is built on unselfish service, making it the basis of all good. He traces three steps the Lord has designed: the world exists so that people can enter the Church, the Church exists so that members can enter the temple, and the temple exists to prepare us to enter the celestial kingdom. Everything points to the temple. Along the way: the story of a Tongan family who waited all day with seven children outside the temple, never complaining, never asking — their paperwork lost under a paper clip — until a prompting led to the discovery and their sealing as an eternal family. President Howard W. Hunter's promise that "no blessing, including that of eternal marriage and an eternal family, will be denied any worthy individual." President Hinckley's charge to attend more regularly and his promise that you will leave better than when you came. And President Groberg's own witness from the Idaho Falls Temple: "The temple is our way to perfection. How can we expect to feel comfortable in His presence in eternity if we don't feel comfortable in His house on earth?"

"The temple is the real world. The world we go out to is the illusionary world, because it won't last." — John H. Groberg

Q: Why does President Groberg say the temple is the real world?
A: Because "real" means that which lasts forever — truth, love, covenants, the Atonement of Jesus Christ — and everything in the temple deals in these eternal realities. The temporal world, including careers, possessions, sickness, and even death, is passing and therefore illusionary by comparison. The temple is where we learn what is permanently true.

Q: What are the three steps the Lord designed leading to the celestial kingdom?
A: President Groberg teaches: (1) the world exists so that people can enter the Church, through baptism; (2) everything in the Church exists to prepare members to worthily enter the temple; (3) everything in the temple exists to prepare and purify us to enter the celestial kingdom of God. "The world prepared so we can enter the Church, the Church prepared so we can enter the temple, the temple prepared so we can enter the celestial kingdom."

Q: How does temple attendance help with everyday life and problems?
A: President Gordon B. Hinckley promised: "Every time you go to the temple you will be a better man or woman when you leave than when you came." President Groberg adds that problems don't disappear, but "the solutions become more apparent." He likens it to a teeter-totter: attend the temple more, and problems become fewer; attend less, and they increase. "You'll be a better student, a better teacher, a better researcher, because you'll see things more clearly."

Q: What happened to the Tongan family who waited all day at the temple?
A: After the Tonga Temple dedication, a family with seven young children arrived early in the morning, submitted their paperwork, and were told to wait until called. They waited all day — the children sitting outside in white, with nothing to eat, never complaining. Their paperwork had been accidentally caught under a paper clip on another family's forms. When a prompting led to the discovery, the family was sealed that evening. "Their waiting all day seemed nothing to them. The only thing that mattered was that they were now an eternal family."

📚 SOURCES REFERENCED IN THIS EPISODE
John H. Groberg, "The Importance of Temples," BYU-Idaho Devotional, October 2006
D&C 1:15–16; D&C 93:24
Ether 12:11
President Howard W. Hunter on eternal marriage blessings
President Gordon B. Hinckley on temple attendance

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Do our deceased ancestors minister to us during temple and family history work? In this Latter-day Saint (LDS) story-day episode, host Tia Smith shares two true accounts from David Frederick Babbel's book Mine Angels Round About You, drawn from his mission in Brazil. In the first, an unseen choir of voices sings alongside the congregation at a convert's baptism — Silvia de Jesus — as her deceased ancestors seem to gather, waiting for their vicarious temple work to be done, a manifestation of the "power of godliness" promised in priesthood ordinances (Doctrine and Covenants 84:20). In the second, "The Night Watchman," two missionaries encounter a mysterious man outside the mission home who is later recognized as the mission president's own deceased father — promised in a patriarchal blessing to help watch over the work. Tia testifies that our labor in family history and temple work is the same holy work as missionary service, and that ministering angels — often our own family beyond the veil — surround us as we gather Israel.

Q: Do Latter-day Saints believe our deceased ancestors can be present at sacred ordinances like baptism?
A: Yes. In Mine Angels Round About You, mission president David Frederick Babbel records the baptism of Silvia de Jesus in Brazil, where missionaries heard an unseen choir singing and felt strongly that her deceased ancestors were present, waiting for their vicarious temple work to be done. It reflects the LDS teaching that the "power of godliness" is manifest in priesthood ordinances (Doctrine and Covenants 84:20).

Q: Are there true LDS stories of a deceased parent ministering to the living?
A: In the "Night Watchman" account from Mine Angels Round About You, two missionaries in Brazil met a mysterious man outside the mission home who was later recognized as the mission president's own deceased father — who had been promised in a patriarchal blessing that he would help watch over the mission. Latter-day Saint teaching holds that ministering angels are often our own family beyond the veil, sent in love to help in the Lord's work.

Q: Is family history and temple work as important as serving a full-time mission?
A: In this episode, Tia Smith testifies that gathering Israel through family history and temple work is the same holy work as missionary service, with the same promise of angels to attend those who do it. As we seek to unite our families across the veil, those on the other side labor alongside us — it is their work too.

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🎵 Amazon Music: https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/a0a45561-d4c2-46d3-af8d-a1e967a21a25

📖 BOOK
Patterns of Revelation — Spiritual Foundations for Hearing God's Voice: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BW36MG9B

📱 CONNECT
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thinning.of.the.veil
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#ThinningOfTheVeil #SpiritWorld #TempleWork #FamilyHistory #LDS #LatterDaySaints #GatheringOfIsrael #MinisteringAngels #FamilySearch #PersonalRevelation

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Colette takes us on her own personal journey in this episode of the Gathering Academy. This experience began with a sacred dream, in where she saw her grandfather, and knew he needed help. After her revelatory experience she went to work, trying to locate the reason for the dream. Colette walks you through how she found lost ancestors that she didn't even know about. Using  FamilySearch, obituaries, Ancestry and other tools, she was able to find the people she believes was the reason for her Grandpa's visit. The last step in this journey is asking permission from living loved ones to see if she can get the ordinances done for her long lost relatives.

YouTube: From Dream To Discovery Video: https://youtu.be/GUGRzYESL00

FamilySearch: https://www.familysearch.org/

YouTube Thinning of the Veil Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@UCAA9WnYhYvCp1ffCe-AGUQQ 

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Book: "Patterns of Revelation":  https://www.amazon.com/Patterns-Revelation-Spiritual-Foundations-Hearing-ebook/dp/B0BWGLZ8VX

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Richard O. Cowan was a BYU Professor who wrote many articles about the relationship between Temples through out the ages. In our day, we cannot fully understand the nature of the ordinances and covenants made in any of the Lord's Holy Houses without a study of how and why these covenants were made anciently. Everything, even including the building of these structures have been received by revelation, showing God's will in all things. Patterns continually repeat themselves and it is no different when it comes to Temples. In this article Brother Cowan, cites the many evidences that temples existed in every dispensation in one form or another. Everything in the temples today directly correlate with Moses' Tabernacle, King Solomon's Temple, and many more. A study of the past, helps us to understand our responsibility in the present, thus giving us more opportunity in our day to realize the great endowment of power that we have been given.

YouTube: What Old Testament Temples Can Teach Us About Our Own Temple Activity Video: https://youtu.be/D91BTm8PGRU

YouTube Thinning of the Veil Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@UCAA9WnYhYvCp1ffCe-AGUQQ 

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Website: Thinning of the Veil: https://www.thinningoftheveil.com/

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CITATIONS:
Richard O. Cowan, “What Old Testament Temples Can Teach Us about Our Own Temple Activity,” in Ascending the Mountain of the Lord: Temple, Praise, and Worship in the Old Testament (2013 Sperry Symposium), ed. Jeffrey R. Chadwick, Matthew J. Grey, and David Rolph Seely (Provo, UT: Religious Studies Center, Brigham Young University; Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 2013), 384–402. :
https://rsc.byu.edu/ascending-mountain-lord/what-old-testament-temples-can-teach-us-about-our-own-temple-activity

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